Treacherous
by HarryPotterGeneration43
Summary: Another Hermione story, this time she is grown up and must make some decisions.
1. Chapter 1

He walked into the corner shop in downtown London. The shop had a variety of merchandise that was sold. Currently however, he was clutching a book he had found that just happened to be the one he was looking for. He made his way to the front of the store where a small coffee counter was located. He walked up to the checkout counter and was about to exchange money for the book he wanted. It was then when he heard a familiar voice. One however, he had not heard in close to ten years. He turned his head and his dark eyes came to rest on the girl talking on one of those cellular devices. The girl was sitting off to the side sipping a coffee as she gossiped into her phone.

"Excuse me, sir, would you please pay for that?!" the young man said from behind the counter.

This pulled him out of his thoughts of the young girl he had his eyes glued to.

"Yes, I'm sorry." He said and he handed the man the money in exchange for the book.

He debated inside his mind if he should go to the young woman and speak to her, or not. Maybe that would be an unwelcome interruption, as she was in the middle of a conversation it seemed.

Ducking himself slightly behind a near bookshelf, he eyed her, still sitting. Then after a short minute, she had put her cellular device down on the small table in front of her.

With a sigh, he decided it would be considerate if he said hello, so he quietly walked in her direction until he stood before her.

"Ah, is that Miss. Granger I have found here, sitting by herself sipping coffee?" his voice questioned her.

She looked up to meet his eyes and to his surprise, a wide grin spread from ear to ear across her face.

"Well hello there!" She greeted him with excitement. She abruptly stood and before he could do anything about it, Hermione Granger had thrown her arms around him.

"Please, sit down, won't you join me?" She insisted as she settled back down in her seat.

"Oh, well…" he began, only to be begged by the young girl.

"Tell me how you are!" She exclaimed.

"Well." He responded with a small nod of his head. "And you?" He asked of the girl.

"I am doing very well!" Hermione responded, still smiling from ear to ear.

"Still at Hogwarts then?" She asked.

"Yes." He answered. "Not much has changed." He added with a twitch of his eye brow.

"You are looking well, Miss. Granger." He said.

"Thank you, and please call me Hermione!" She insisted.

"Tell me," She began, "Is Severus Snape still scaring young first years still?" she asked of him.

With a soft chuckle he looked towards the almost empty cup of coffee. "Well, I have to admit, I've gotten a bit soft in my older age." He said finally meeting Hermione's eyes again.

"You wouldn't be surprised to know that Minerva had a little bit to do with that" He added with a smile.

Hermione was taken aback by Severus Snape's almost happy aura. "I'm sure." She responded.

"Yes, well she did make a good point. The war is long over, and there's much to be happy about, not scared. I suppose she's right…" He said a bit dryly.

"Yep." Hermione agreed. "Now, how long has it been since I have seen you, professor?" She questioned him. He frowned a bit in thought.

"let me see…" he began.

"Almost, 9- no!10 years." Hermione exclaimed as she did the math.

"Yeah, coming to close in on about 10 years I suppose." Severus repeated. "Wow."

"Wow." Hermione echoed.

The two of them just stared at each other for a quiet moment and to any on looker, it would seem as if in silent reflection. But maybe there was something more of a spark in the pair of eyes.

"So, tell me, what is it that you concern yourself with these days Miss. Granger?" Snape asked.

"Well, first, I'm just finishing up graduate school. And second, please, I insist- it's Hermione." She stated.

With an inclination of his head he spoke. "What is it that you are studying?"

"Writing." She answered simply.

"Ah. Well that seems fitting." Severus said.

"Yes, well, a lot of my peers and for lack of a better word, admirers, would beg to disagree." She said.

"Oh?" He questioned with a quirk of an eyebrow.

"Yes. They-" She began but he interrupted.

"Let me guess, they believe that one of the golden trio should be doing bigger things than simple creative writing hmm?"

His remarks were only met by a small smile.

"Well, I do remember Miss. Granger, that you were always scribbling on some scrap of paper."

"I do like writing. I actually have a book coming out soon." Hermione said.

"That must be exciting for you, I'm sure!" Severus said.

"Yes!" Hermione said joyfully. "In just a little over a week."

"That is soon!" He said.

"Yeah, things have not been quiet lately, that's for sure." Hermione said, still grinning.

"Well, congratulations." Severus said.

"The two of you need anything?" Came a deep voice. The two at the table looked up to see a waiter with a coffee pot standing over them.

Hermione just shook her head.

"no, no." Severus said. "Actually, I should be going."

He stood and reached for his newly purchased book which he had sat on the table top.

"Miss. Granger, It was a delight." He began, looking at the girl who stood to greet his departure.

Shaking her head, she met his stare. "Please, Hermione, don't make me ask you again."

"Well come here." She insisted, knowing it may not be welcome by her former professor, she reached out to embrace him.

Caught off-guard, Severus just stood still, unsure how to respond to the girl's actions. A second later, Severus allowed himself to relax a bit and gently patted the girl on the back.

"It was good to see you, Hermione." He said softly.

With that and a small tilt of his head, he was gone. Hermione sat back down, and took a sip of her coffee. Smiling to herself, she opened her book and began to read from right where she left off. However, this task seemed more difficult than it ought to be, as Hermione found her mind wandering. As her mind wandered, she allowed her eyes to wander also, right outside the window, she spotted a Man dressed from head to toe in black, crossing the street, making his way out of sight, holding tight to a newly purchased book.

_****Hello Readers! Here it is, a new story. I hope this first chapter captures your curiosity! Those of you I have reached out to, please feel free to PM suggestions and thoughts. Happy reading and please review!**_

_**~Musicmaker43**_


	2. Chapter 2

The next day Severus Snape was sitting in his office working on his muggle laptop.

"I honestly do not understand why this is necessary." Snape groaned.

"Well, Minerva suggested it..." Luna started to respond.

"Just because Minerva suggested it..." Severus groaned on.

"Professor, really, now that she's instated this new muggle studies program you must be familiar with the latest trends in the muggle world." Luna stated.

After the war Luna had gone to work for The Quibbler, however, she had soon discovered that writing was not her passion and she took an interest in potions. That is why she would find herself back at Hogwarts, appointed assistant to Senior Professor of Potions, Mr. Severus Snape, himself. They had been working together for close to 10 years now.

"Honestly…" Severus began before Luna could cut across him-

"Honestly, Professor, the only reason I left to help you is because I am the only person who will put up with you…" She exclaimed. Joking of course, but Severus picked up on the slight tone.

"You know I was just saying to Miss Hermione Granger the other afternoon that I've gotten soft in my old age." He confessed to the sarcastic young witch.

"Yes well, - Ah- here you go!" she said as she interrupted herself and began touching the mouse pad on the laptop.

"Now, I've gotten you this far, to the site. Now, all you have to do is fix your profile." Luna explained.

"Excuse me?" Snape asked.

"Okay, See here Severus, you can't expect to get more students and prospective fans interested in excitement of potions if you don't make your blog profile welcoming and personable." Luna elaborated. As she spoke she knew that welcoming and personable was a stretch when it came to this man. It was only in the last year or so he even started greeting children when he passed them in the halls just to be nice.

"Prospective fans?" Severus mused dryly with a quirk of an eyebrow.

"Well." Luna started as she stood straight, looking down at Professor Snape, "You never know..." She said and with that she had turned and headed for the office door. "Ta ta!" She said as she hustled absent mindedly out the door. Severus gave a half-hearted wave over his shoulder before returning his attention to the screen in front of him.

"Alright, let's give it a whirl I suppose." He said to himself with a sigh.

He touched the mouse-pad as Luna had done before. He moved the tiny arrow on the screen to click on the top right hand button that said _Edit. _A dropdown menu appeared and the world_ profile_ appeared as one of the options.

This lead Severus to an internet page that had a space for him to write a small biography, something titled, _content, _and even a place for a photograph.

_Hmmm… _Severus mused. I don't even know if I could find a photo of myself that I would be willing to allow out into cyberspace for the world and beyond to see.

Photography, unknown to a great deal except the selected few, happened to be one of Severus Snape's secret hobbies. The few that he had allowed to grow as close as one can get to Severus; they knew he always had his camera with him at any grand occasion, even the not so grand occasions. Thinking of how he had become the photographer of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry caused Severus to think on how far he really had come, regarding softening towards, well, really everybody.

_Biography, _he paused a moment, _"_I think I'll skip that for right now."

He went to one of his library files on the laptop and opened up pictures from the last Hogwarts Christmas party. As he electronically flipped through the photos, he came across one of very few photos that he had not taken himself and instead, made an appearance in. It was a photo of himself and Arthur Weasley. It was clear that Arthur may have had a little too much of Professor Sprout's punch. With a few extra clicks of his mouse-pad, he had successfully cut Mr. Weasley out of the picture. With another click or two, he was able to enhance the lighting and color of the photo- anything to make himself look better. He then replicated the photo into his new profile page for his blog. He had to roll his eyes at the sound of that. He, Severus Snape, had a blog on the line! He then grabbed some potions articles out and few other documents that he replicated to the _Content_ area of his blog.

"That's enough for right now I think." He whispered to himself and closed the internet window. He was about to close the lid of the laptop when he saw that his photo's library was still open. Absentmindedly he scrolled through a few more. He came across one where that he had taken. He paused and looked at each of the faces. It was a photo of his assistant, Luna and her wedded, one and only Neville. The pair of them stood next to two of the redheaded Weasley children. As he stared at the picture of Ginny and Bill in front of him, his mind wandered to Hermione Granger. He wondered why she hadn't made appearances at these annual Hogwarts gatherings. He had enjoyed getting to see her yesterday afternoon. He had remembered her saying that she had been busy with her new book. He must admit that that is quite the accomplishment, contrary to what others seemed to have expressed, according to Hermione. After closing out his photo library window he shut off the laptop, picked it up and shoved it under his arm, and left his office. He headed to his private chambers to retreat for the evening.

The next morning Severus Snape awoke for probably the 20th time. He, in his neglectfulness, had become so engrossed at looking at pictures that he had decided to take his laptop to bed with him. He had spent many hours into the right scrolling through pictures of the last 10 years. Special occasions like Christmas, New Years, Minerva's birthday… and now the annual celebration of Good Wizards Day. It was celebrated every year one day after the final battle was won. The celebration of good conquering evil and love over hate. There were so many pictures he often spent time editing them and for what? For whom? Often, it was he himself and only a few staff members who ever saw the photos, revisiting the moments after the snap shot was taken. However, he decided he had exhausted the activity; he had shut the lid of the laptop and set it on his side night table. He quickly had learned he should have turned the darn machine off completely; as he was awaken countless times through the remainder of the night by incessant dings. After the first of which his investigation taught him that the "ding" signified a new "follower" of his recently created blog- why in Merlin's name anyone would be remotely interested in following him "on the line", voluntarily at that, was beyond Severus' comprehension. After the war, yes, when it was common knowledge that he did in fact live and survive as a hero no less for his efforts as a spy, people did seem to see him in a new light. At first his recluse impulsiveness despised this "new light" attention he received. Over time however, as Minerva had so consistently pointed out, it was something he learned to embrace. Needless to say, he had not had a proper night's sleep.

Severus now stood in his living quarters gazing out at the morning hillside of Hogwarts grounds that can be seen outside of his window. Lazily, he sipped his coffee. Coffee was one of Severus' many secret muggle indulgences. Not many wizards, not many on this side of the Atlantic, muggle or wizard actually, found delight in the adrenaline provoking drink. It is true that most here did prefer tea, he himself surprisingly couldn't get enough of it- coffee that is.

Once he had made his way to the Great Hall for breakfast and was drinking his 3rd cup of coffee, he ate his breakfast and was already quite exhausted.

"Well, you look well this morning!" He heard Ponoma Sprout's voice from his left. With a raised eye brow he grunted.

"Yes well its her fault!" He exclaimed; pointing at Luna who had just walked up to take her seat at the head table.

"Honestly Severus". Minerva's voice joined in from his right side. "Give the girl a break; at least let her eat her breakfast before you start in on her". Minerva said to which Severus just rolled his eyes. With a sigh Severus simply focused on downing the remainder of his breakfast.

"You were up all evening weren't you?" Luna stated confidently. "How's that Blog coming?" She asked with a smirk.

"Actually" He began, "I was editing pictures".

"Oh?" Minerva Questioned. "You ever going to share these pictures?"

He turned to Minerva and spoke, "I was considering that the other evening; why do I take the time for the photos? All the editing and such nonsense."

"…because you enjoy it." Minerva said simply. "I'm sure you will find a use for all of the photos you take." She added.

With that Severus stood, casually tossing his cloth napkin to rest atop the table next to the plate of his half eaten breakfast. "Well, I'm off." He stated. "There is work to be done." He said as he bid his company goodbye.

As the day drew on, his thoughts and grading papers were interrupted by the still incessant "dinging" of notifications from his blog on the line. As he looked at the many people who had misfortunately decided to follow him, he decided to peruse the blog of other people who seemed taken by the idea of inter-web thought sharing. Some of the people whom he stumbled upon claimed their thoughts entertaining enough to even have a blog utterly surprised him. People such as Argus Filch. _Who knew?! _He thought. Among the list were Neville Longbottom, Cho, Arthur Weesley- "Of course" Severus mumbled to himself. "Loves to think himself important."

Severus was about to give up the task for the afternoon and return to his work when a photo and name caught his eye. The name: Hermione Granger.

The Photo showed her with a copy of her book and a pen behind her ear.

His curiosity got the best of him. He clicked on the link that connected him to Hermione's blog page. There were a handful of entries. Paragraphs long. He began scrolling and at random, picked an entry and started to read.

"_My latest visit in the states I spent time in muggle universities…." _– Interesting, Severus thought as he continued reading. "_While there were many things that stood out to me as different than us Wizards, honestly, I observed many similarities. As far as Transfiguration goes…." _Severus stopped reading and continued browsing the rest of Hermione's page. He absentmindedly clicked on the blue "follow" button positioned underneath Hermione's photo.

Meanwhile, Hermione Granger was seated at the dining table of her friend Ginny Weesley, joined by Ginny's fiancé, the chosen one himself. Harry and Ginny had gotten engaged five years after the war and had been engaged for 5 more years. Ginny, surprisingly, admitted over one lengthy conversation with Hermione, she was the one dragging her feet when it comes to marriage. Hermione thought of the two of them, Harry would have been the cautious one, but one can never tell in any instance. We are all different and unpredictable creatures.

Hermione often stayed for dinner at their place. It was close to Hermione's flat and Ginny and Hermione were often doing things together. The three of them enjoyed a nice dinner and after a game of wizards Pictionary, Hermione bid her friends farewell and went off to her own home.

After settling in for the night, Hermione proceeded with her usual nightly routine. This consisted of making a cup of hot coco and snuggling up in bed with her laptop to recount the events of the day to her many blog reader… however faithful they were, or in some cases, were not.

As Hermione visited her blog page, she found the notification that was awaiting her. The notification that when she clicked on it, a photograph of the one Professor Snape appeared.

"Well," She said to herself. "It's nice to see you."

She clicked on his picture and was connected to his blog. She perused his very lacking of detail blog, so this only took seconds. She allowed her mind to drift to their visit the other day in the café shop.

"Yes, it was nice to see you." She repeated to herself.


End file.
